This is the legend. Apparently in the 1965 Indo-Pak some 400 shells were lobbed by the Pakistani Forces on Tanot, a border town in Rajasthan. Not one exploded , it is said. The believer's view is that Tanot Mata protected the people. Bah - superstition say the doubters - mere exaggeration of a few dud shells, they say. Who knows ? I am happy to just visit.

A Tanot Mata mandir has been in existence since 1200 AD . Now the army has adopted it and an impeccable and squeaky clean temple exists. I am told, this temple also featured in the Hindi movie Border.

It is probably the only Mandir in the country where bombshells are kept inside the temple. They are on display – some of the unexploded shells from the 1971 war. The BSF has adopted the temple and its now part of their barracks. The village itself is tiny. Just four years ago, it reportedly had nothing. Now there's a place to eat, there’s a post office and there’s even an ATM !!! But there’s hardly anybody other than the armed forces. Its 120 kms up from Jaisalmer and very few make the trip. As usual, the jawans are very happy to talk to visitors. The guy manning the checkpost was from Karnataka himself . His eyes lit up when he saw the Karnataka number plate on my car, but was thoroughly disgusted to find that I spoke no Kannada !

That is the last civilian point. 30 odd kilometres beyond is the border, but no civilians are allowed . Solpa adjust maadi, I tried, trying to sweet talk him into letting me go to the border. He shooed me away – I should thank my stars that he did not shoot me for not being able to speak Kannada.

The journey to Tanot itself is well worth it. This is desert in its truest sense. The touristy west of Jaisalmer has desert, but the dunes are small as compared to here. Here the dunes tower on both sides and its quite an experience driving through them. The road is impeccable again, thanks to the BRO. Completely virgin territory. There are few people and even the isolated villages are tiny. You rarely see a vehicle and if you do, its most likely an army truck . The road is straight as an arrow and you can see for miles. Its one of the most evocative of roads to drive in.

It’s wonderful to get off the tourist trail.